Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott have been making their final pleas to the three independents MPs as Australia waits to find out who will form the country's next government.

Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Bob Katter have held final discussions with the Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader, and each other, before an expected announcement from the trio in the next few hours.

Mr Oakeshott now says the trio expect to make their announcement in a press conference at 3:00pm AEST.

Ms Gillard needs the vote of at least two of the independents to gain a majority while Mr Abbott must get the vote of all three.

Mr Oakeshott says he has enormous respect for both leaders and says either would make a credible leader.

But he also expects to cop criticism from the side which misses out on his support.

"People will scream and kick and be disappointed, and that is out of my control," he said.

Mr Oakeshott says the country trio are faced with a "wicked" decision.

"Hopefully there is a recognition that this is an unnatural choice that the three of us have got to make," he said.

The independents have been playing their cards close to their chests since the election delivered a hung parliament 17 days ago.

Mr Abbott and Ms Gillard may find out their fate at the same time as the rest of the country, with Mr Windsor indicating earlier today that they may not tell the leaders before announcing their intentions.

All three have said that if it looks as if Parliament will be deadlocked on 75 votes each side that one of them may have to switch their support.

But Mr Windsor says he cannot completely rule out another election.

"If the numbers went one way or another there is a possibility of another election," he said.

Free trade is the oldest argument in federal politics and the issue that literally defined the federation era but opposition exists to the TPP, courtesy of the Investor-State Dispute Resolutions clause.